A Good Trip

"... a good trip with many friendships."

THERE IS this belief in the church that every godly person in any kind of ministry will suffer persecution. Because Jesus mentioned it to His disciples. It is spoken by the apostle Paul to his son-in the-faith, Timothy, as well.

This is not to speak negatively of anyone who has been persecuted and had to stand up against hate, strife, and, to put it simply, un-Christ-like behavior. The Word of God, and Jesus is the Word, is too specific on our command to “love one another” for us to become those who are persecutors. Really, I don’t like to call it a command, although it is one. It should be WHO WE ARE because we love Jesus so much that we’ve given up ourselves (or “our selfishness”) to have His nature, His character. His beauty. He is the most unselfish one of us all. But persecution, though it is a thing, is not a requirement of living for Jesus. God did not condemn us to be persecuted but has provided us with all of heaven (Ephesians 1:3).

I made this example recently to show how much God has done for us. Through salvation, we are recreated in God’s image; our spirit is made new. Through salvation, we are healed and delivered from all the oppression of the devil (Acts 10:38). Through salvation, God has promised us all of our needs are supplied (Matthew 6:32). And we are told in 1 John 3:8 that Jesus destroyed, a word meaning dissolved, all the works of the devil. This is a complete victory. The devil now has no authority, no social structure, no kingdom. See the fullness of these. God left nothing undone. He omitted nothing of what He intended to do to redeem us from sin and death. Why then do we think He would require us to always suffer tragic forms of persecution? Jesus points us to the goodness of God and how to trust Him for His grace and well-being. Though the Seed He’s planted may come up against persecution, when it falls on good soil, it will grow.

“And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” (Mark 4:20)

He sent us His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to teach us and guide us and bring things to our remembrance. He is with us forever to aid us in having a successful, enjoyable life. The Spirit knows our every thought, every word spoken or unspoken. He sees our footsteps, both where we’ve been and where we are going. He’s already told us of the end of death and the rebirth of this planet (Revelation 21:4). There is nothing out of His view. So we can know that He knows all we will ever come up against, and even greater, that He is FOR US to keep us from falling into a trap, to prevent us from being anywhere we should not be, to protect us from making wrong choices. When we learn to walk in the Spirit, in the power of the Spirit, then we will find favor with God and man.

This is the promise of Proverbs 3:3-4.

“Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” (Proverbs 3:3-4)

We read it also in the words of the apostle John. In 3 John 1:2, he wishes the recipient of his letter a prosperous soul. The full verse reads, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” The words “prosper” and “prosperous” refer to a journey. It means “help on the road” and “to succeed in reaching.” This is God’s will for us. Not to barely make it and gain a boatload of enemies along the way, but to be in health and have, basically, a good trip with many friendships.

“The beauty of faith-filled people encompasses me. They are true, and my heart is thrilled beyond measure.” (Psalm 16:4, VOICE)

The apostle Paul also made this remark in his analogy about running a race. I love the Remedy Translation which states the end reward of our persistence—seeing Jesus face-to-face. Jesus, who, in His words to the disciples about persecution, also promised the Spirit will tell them what to say (Matthew 10:19).

“I press forward, constantly toward the goal of Christlike perfection—one day to experience the ultimate prize for which God has called me heavenward—the joy of seeing him face to face.” (Philippians 3:14, Remedy)

We will grow what seeds we plant. If we plant sorrow, hatred, and acceptance of disfavor with men, then that is what we will see. Not that every trouble is always at the will of men. I can attest to this in my own life. There were many things out of my control, but I could also have given into them and the ideas of more hardship by talking like “that’s just how things are.”

Do you see it? We don’t have to grow old and lose our memory and our ability to do things because people say that’s what happens. Just this morning I saw where a 100-something-year-old woman was going to enter a swim meet. We don’t have to accept that because we grew up in South City, we will be poor our entire life. God is against greed and covetousness, but the Father has said we need never worry about food or clothing or housing. And here’s my own example. I don’t have to tolerate fire ants. This may surprise you, but they were a huge problem in my yard, and I discovered my dog is deadly allergic to ant poison. So I began to point my finger at them and command them to go. Now, we have hardly any at all.

Take these and apply them to your reputation with people. We are responsible for it with our behavior, with how we act in love or in strife. If we defend ourselves first and condemn the other person, if we are quick to mouth-off, then we will create problems where there shouldn’t be any. Our mental growth, meaning maturity, is part of what we must continually strive for. To be like Jesus, who was willing to die for all men, requires us to seek the Truth about ourselves. But in that seeking, we don’t need to live under condemnation from darkness and sin, from people, or from ourselves. And we don’t need to ever worry about stepping wrong and offending someone along the way.

I’m committed to LOVE ONE ANOTHER and to SUBMISSION to Jesus as Lord. I’m committed to OBEDIENCE to the Word of God and the Will of God. I will know the Voice of the Spirit, the Voice of God, and never misstep.

God, in response, because He loves me this much, will make the way smooth for me, even if that means someone’s ugliness disappears when they speak to me. I said it this way, years ago, when talking about selling books: God is my Salesman. He tells me what to write, where to post it, how to sell it, and does so many incredible things, many unknown to me, along the way. I do not suffer persecution. I will never suffer persecution. But live a joyful, satisfied life until one day, I sit down in a chair, healthy of mind and body, and choose to go home.

"Only goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will live in God's heavenly home for evermore." (Psalm 23:6, Remedy)

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Photo by Antonino Visalli on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com